The Pop-Pop's Diary
by karyshamy
Summary: After Meemaw's death, Sheldon travels to Texas to search for memories in his grandparent's old house and finds his Pop-Pop's diary, in which he wrote all about his relationship with Meemaw. Coming back to Pasadena, Sheldon will put those ideas into action.
1. Farewell

**Author's notes:** Hi there! I'm starting this new multi-chapter story. I don't know yet how long it will be, but I plan to write it slowly. This first part will have quicker updates, though, I will build up the story until we get to the part of the Pop-Pop's diary.

This story takes place in season 8, somewhere between The Fortification Implementation and the finale.

As usual, I don't own these characters.

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Farewell**

It was 6.30 pm, and Amy was still cooking. She was late, Sheldon would arrive there in exactly thirty minutes and she still had to take a shower. She had completely forgotten to use the oven mitt to lift the spaghetti pan and turn it onto the strainer, which resulted in burnt fingers and spaghetti wasted all over the sink. How could she have been so careless? She had to do it all over again, good thing that the sauce with little hot dogs was ready. She stirred the spaghetti, trying to think of a way she could speed it up, but, unfortunately, there was nothing she could do about it except wait. She needed to concentrate, otherwise she would do another stupid thing and there was no time for that.

She finished preparing it properly then, placing the spaghetti back in the pan and covering it with the savory sauce. She had only 15 minutes until Sheldon arrived, and she had no idea about how to get ready in such a short period of time. Well, Sheldon would have to wait.

She entered the shower, quickly removing all her layers, and started to wash her hair and rinse it in record time. After 7 minutes, she left the bathroom, getting dry at the same time she walked towards her bedroom, her feet leaving wet footprints in the carpet. Luckily she already knew what she would wear. She had bought a new dress, together with a couple of items she purchased for her trip.

She had now only 5 minutes to get ready, so she fixed her wet hair in a messy bun, putting on her plain white underwear and the new yellow dress. She put on her pink striped cardigan on top of it, coming back to the bathroom to brush her teeth and apply some light makeup.

When she put the tip back on the lipstick, she heard the three characteristic sequence of knocks on the door.

*Knock Knock Knock* "Amy."

*Knock Knock Knock* "Amy."

*Knock Knock Knock* "Amy."

She looked one last time at the mirror, her hair still wet, she just put on her glasses and walked towards the front door to greet her boyfriend.

Sheldon was patiently waiting at the door, wondering why it was taking that long for Amy to open it. When he was about to start knocking again, he heard the noise of the key turning, so he quickly lowered his hand. But when the door finally open, he saw something different from what he expected.

"Amy, what happened?" He had never seen her open the door like that. In almost five years, it was the first time she greeted him barefoot and with wet hair.

"I'm sorry, I'm not ready yet, can you give me more 10 minutes?"

"Alright, I'll sit here and wait for you."

He placed his satchel and windbreaker on the chair next to the door and sat on her couch while she went back to her bedroom. The food smelt wonderful. He didn't even need to ask what she had prepared for them, and he loved when she cooked his favorite meal. He turned around and looked at the table, and saw that she hadn't set it, so he decided he could help her and soon he was in the kitchen, picking up the plates, cups and cutlery. He noticed the spaghetti spilled in the sink, and he grabbed some paper towel to dispose it.

When Amy arrived back in the living room she saw Sheldon placing the cutlery next to the plates, and smiled at him.

"Thank you! I was going to do that, but there was no time."

"I see, how did you spill the spaghetti in the sink?"

"Oh, you saw that, huh?" She looked down, a bit embarrassed by her sloppiness.

"Where you distracted by the trip?"

"Yes, I just have so much in my mind that I forgot about the oven mitt and just realized when I felt my fingers burning."

"Dear Lord, did you get burned?" He immediately grabbed her hands and stared at the red marks on both hands.

"Yes, but it's not bad, I put it under cool water, and I just need to put some ointment on it and I'll be fine."

"And what are you waiting for?" He didn't wait for her reply and he walked towards her bathroom to find the ointment in her medicine cabinet. He came back with aloe vera and gauze, bringing her to sit with him on the couch. He held one hand in his with her palm up and slowly applied the ointment on the red marks. Amy winced at the contact.

"Sorry."

"That's ok, it's just hurting a bit."

"You have to be careful, little lady."

"I know."

He took her other hand to continue his task, and Amy took the chance to enjoy the contact of their hands. When he finished and let her hands go, she already missed his touch.

"Well, do you think you need to protect it with gauze?"

"No, it was not that bad, let the ointment dry and I can eat."

"I can serve dinner tonight, then." He smiled at her, patting her knee before standing up.

"I'd love that." She stood up as well, following him to the table.

He washed his hands and started serving the food.

"Is everything ready for tomorrow?"

"I guess. I still need to check my notes to see if I didn't forget to mention anything, but my boss read it two days ago and he said it was great.

"Would you like me to read it too?"

"No, that's alright."

"Ok."

They started eating quietly, and Sheldon was a bit apprehensive about her trip. She was traveling by airplane to Oslo, and it was a 10-hour flight to get there. That was a nightmare! Ten hours inside an airplane! He remembered when he had to fly to Germany, it was almost the same thing, oh, the horror! But Amy seemed quite calm about the flight, she was more concerned about her seminars. He didn't know why she was worried about that, she excelled in everything she did, so talking about her research to a few grad students and neuroscientists shouldn't be a big deal to her.

"I'm gonna miss you." She said all of a sudden.

"I know." He smiled at her, and she knew the meaning of that after watching so many Star Wars Trek films with him.

"Are you gonna miss me?"

"Of course I will. You won't be here for dinner during the week, I'll have to go to the zoo by myself and we will miss two date nights."

"I promise I'll make them up to you when I return."

"Good."

They finished eating dinner, talking about the seminars and her visit at the University of Oslo. Amy was really excited about the trip, and Sheldon was proud of her. UiO was one of the most prestigious universities in neuroscience, and to be invited for a series of seminars and boards was an important step in her career, and showed how much her work was appreciated in the academy. Amy had been getting ready for this trip for the last two weeks, and she was going to miss Sheldon a lot, but it was definitely a great oportunity for her to gain respect for her work and it would add points for her reputation, making her closer to a Nobel.

When they finished dinner, Sheldon promptly started to clean the dishes, and Amy sat by the counter to watch him work.

"So..." She started, cleaning her throat. "As it's our last date night before I travel, maybe we could..."

Sheldon put down the plate he was rinsing and looked at her.

"Maybe we could what?"

"Umm... Well, I was thinking about asking you to spend the night..."

"But Amy!"

"... but I thought it would be a huge step, and I didn't ask you beforehand so you could get ready. I was thinking maybe we could watch a movie and cuddle."

"When you say cuddle, do you mean sitting or lying?"

"The latter."

He gulped, turning back to the sink and picking up the plate again, so Amy wouldn't see he was blushing.

"Proposal. We start sitting and if we feel comfortable we can lie a bit."

"Ok, we can try that. But no funny business, little lady!"

"Deal."

Amy stood up and searched for a film they would both enjoy while Sheldon finished with the dishes.

When Sheldon joined her on the couch, she pressed play and he saw she had chosen The Time Machine.

"Amy, I love this movie!"

"I know!" She replied, picking up the throw to cover their legs, as she laid on his chest. He put an arm around her shoulders, and she rested a hand behind his waist, and the other on his leg.

She tucked her legs under the cover, and gave him a quick peck on his cheek before the movie started. Sheldon watched her getting comfortable around him and wondered if he could get more comfortable too. He slipped a bit in his seat, supporting his long legs on her coffee table. The dimmed lights helped him become bolder, so he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and happily watched the movie. He was going to miss her terribly. The last time they were apart that long was in his train trip, and he was miserable without her. He knew that it wouldn't be different this time.

When Dr. Hartdegen came back in time to try to save his beloved fiancée from death just to watch her die again, Sheldon felt a pang in his stomach and he suddenly turned around, making Amy sit up.

"I wouldn't opposite to the idea of us cuddling lying on the couch. It's cold, we would be more comfortable."

"Oh, ok!" Amy happily moved to give him space to lie on the couch, and she laid in front of him, her head resting on his arm, as he hugged her from behind. He covered them with the throw again, and this time he turned her head with his fingers to give her a kiss on the lips. A short, chaste one, but made Amy happier than ever.

When the movie ended, they slowly disentangled from each other, sitting up.

"Thank you for a pleasant evening."

"My pleasure."

"The food was delicious."

"Good."

"So I pick you up tomorrow at 4 to take you to the airport?"

"Yes, and thank Leonard for me."

"I will."

"So... I see you tomorrow then?"

"Yes." He stepped closer to her, placing both hands on her hips, bringing her closer to him. Their lips touched, but this time Sheldon deepened the kiss, opening his mouth a bit, and gently nibbling on her lower lip with his tongue. Amy felt her knees weaken and placed her arms around his neck for a better support. He slid his hands up, pulling her closer as he hugged her by her waist. Amy responded by pressing her tongue against his, and Sheldon allowed her to explore his mouth.

They broke the kiss, but still holding each other, Sheldon whispered in her ear.

"That was a double kiss just in case we can't find a reserved area in the airport to say goodbye properly."

She just nodded, her cheeks flushed and her lips swollen, which Sheldon thought it was adorable.

"Leonard is waiting for me. I need to go."

He leaned again for a quick kiss, and let her go.

"Good night, Amy."

"Good night, Sheldon."

* * *

Leonard was bored as he heard the seventh Counterfactuals question, with another crazy and nonsense reply. Apparently Sheldon and Amy were having lots of fun. The only thing he really didn't understand was why Sheldon was not in the backseat making out with his girlfriend. If Penny had to travel for two weeks, he would certainly be doing that. But apparently the Shamy had their own ways of saying goodbye.

When they arrived at LAX, Leonard dropped them at the departures area.

"I'll find a place to park and I meet you guys in a few minutes, ok?"

"Thank you, Leonard, it was very kind of you to bring me to the airport."

"Hey! I brought you to the airport, Leonard was just driving!"

Amy blinked at Leonard, who got the message. When he first met her she was a robotic weirdo just like Sheldon, but it was amazing of how much she had improved along the years. While Sheldon... Err... Not that much. But he did improve a little.

Sheldon opened the trunk to get her bag, and they walked hand in hand inside the airport. Leonard observed the couple, Sheldon was even carrying her carry-on suitcase, which was probably not heavy, but it was an unexpected gesture anyway.

Amy showed Sheldon the place to dispatch her bag, and after that they found a seat so they could wait for Leonard before Amy entered the boarding area.

"Sheldon, why are you nervous?"

"I always get nervous in airports."

"But you're not even flying!"

"But you are!"

Amy tried to suppress a grin, as Sheldon probably hadn't noticed he just admitted he was worried about her. She thought it was very sweet of him, but she was not going to push it. Instead, she comforted him.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine, I'll call you as soon as I arrive there."

"Ok. And no matter the time, call me."

"I will."

"Good."

Leonard met them there, and noticed how apprehensive Sheldon was. He thought it would be better to leave them alone, so they could talk.

"Well, Amy, have a nice trip. I'll have a look at the tickets for New Jersey, as Penny wants to meet my family. I have no idea why, but anyway..."

He gave her a quick hug, as Sheldon stared at him as if he was mauling his woman.

"Thanks again, Leonard."

"Text me when you're ready to go, buddy. Bye."

As Leonard walked away, Amy sat again beside Sheldon. She wished the chairs were not individual, so they could sit closer.

"Thank you for being here with me."

"Ok." Sheldon looked nervously around, not focusing in her as he spoke. "Are you sure you packed enough warm clothes?"

"Yes, and if I need something extra I already found a couple of stores where I can buy clothes."

"Good. Come here." He grabbed her hand and took her with him to an area that lead to a closed door. He looked around, and saw that it was reserved enough, so he pulled her closer to a kiss. Amy didn't expect that, so at first she was static, but after his lips moved a bit she started moving with him, deepening their kiss. She placed her hands on his arms, as he was holding her by the waist.

He broke the kiss, resting his forehead against hers. "I love you."

"I love you too."

He gave her one more kiss before they parted. He took her hand and lead her to the departure area, but before letting her go he gave her a hug, whispering in her ear. "Have a nice trip, Amy."

"Thanks, Sheldon. I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too."

She gave him a quick peck on his cheek and walked away, turning to wave him goodbye.

* * *

Later at vintage game night, the gang was having dinner at the 4A before the girls left for Penny's apartment. They were all talking about the amazing opportunity Amy had in this trip, and Sheldon was speaking proudly about her paper and how her work was appreciated all over the world. It was past 7 pm, and Sheldon started to shoo the girls to 4B. They were all cleaning up the dinner mess when the phone rang.

Leonard quickly answered it.

"Sheldon, it's for you."

"Who is it?"

"It's your sister."

"Hello, Missy, what should I give the honor of you calling me in an unscheduled day?"

Everybody turned around when they heard the noise of the phone falling on the floor. Sheldon sat on his spot, his face pale.

"Meemaw's dead."

Leonard quickly handed him a paper bag and he breathed in, before he picked up the phone from the floor.

"Missy? Sorry, Sheldon's in shock, he'll call you later."

Everybody sat close to him, trying to console him somehow.

"Should we call Amy?" Penny asked, but Sheldon answered her right away.

"She's in the airplane."

"I'm so sorry, buddy, I know how special she was to you."

"No, you don't. How can you possibly know that?" He stood up in wobbling legs, walking towards his bedroom. He returned after a few minutes with his emergency bag in hand. He put on his windbreaker, placed his laptop in his satchel, and turned to Leonard.

"I'm sorry I overreacted. Can you take me to the airport? I need to fly to Texas."

"Sure, buddy, let's go."


	2. Remnants

**Author's notes:** Here our adventure begins. So many feelings in this chapter. I never dealt well with death, I hope I didn't make it over dramatic.

Thanks a lot for receiving this story so well, I can't express how great it was to read your reviews!

I own nothing.

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Remnants**

It was a chilly early evening. The tiny drizzle drops spotted the windows, creating a blurry image of the landscape. But Amy decided not to sit by the window. She didn't want to say goodbye to her land, to the ones she was leaving in California, to Sheldon. She'd preferred the aisle seat, and as the plane started to move, she watched the safety instructions on the small screen in front of her until the Norwegian version began. Her 10-hour journey to Oslo was just starting. She sighed, knowing she would suffer terribly from jet lag and she needed to sleep as early as she could so it wouldn't impact on her work too much. As the plane took off the lights were dimmed and she closed her eyes. She would never admit to herself being afraid of flying, but that moment was the worst part. She took a quick look around, checking if everything was ok. The woman sitting next to her was lazily flipping the pages of a magazine, taking glimpses of the outside from time to time. A group of guys to the left was chatting about work, and lots of people were getting ready to sleep. She looked at her fingers, the small burn marks reminding her of Sheldon. Of how he kindly took care of her. She wondered if he would have accepted to travel with her. She didn't even bother to ask him. Was she wrong in assuming he would dismiss the idea completely? She wished he were there with her, holding her burnt hand, telling her she would do a great job.

As the plane reached the proper flight altitude, the lights were turned on again and soon the flight attendants started to move around. The speaker announced dinner would be served shortly. Amy was working on her laptop, rereading her lecture for the third time that day. She had already read it while she was waiting for boarding. "With that, it was possible to assume that the collected data of the stimuli experiment represented the increase of shedding substance in the endocrine system among the starfish specimen." It was hard to read about pleasure stimulation when she was feeling so down. She put away the laptop as they started to serve dinner, and as she ate her chicken with pasta, she thought about the spaghetti with hot dogs she shared with Sheldon the night before. They had a lovely date night, she just wished she had been bold enough to ask him beforehand to spend the night, giving him a 24-hour notice. It was not that hard, she just needed to click send and the email with the invitation would arrive in his inbox. But she decided it was too early for inviting him to spend the night again with her. Three weeks ago they had spent the night together for the first time in the fort. It was a magical evening. They had played games, and it was so beautifully decorated with the little lights, and Sheldon got them extra blankets just in case they felt cold at night. She woke up feeling sore, but as she saw the smile on his sleepy face she knew he liked the experience, and it was all she needed to reassure herself. But he never mentioned it again, and then a sudden invitation without a previous discussion was out of question. Shame. It could have been an even better night.

After finishing eating and having the containers collected, she turned around on her seat, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep. It was definitely not working. She decided she would just sit straight and close her eyes, hoping that sleep would find her. She still had eight long hours of flight ahead.

* * *

Sheldon watched the safety instructions on the small screen in front of his seat. His 3-hour trip to Houston seemed endless, and it hadn't even started yet. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to recite Pi to a hundred places. But not even the easier of the constants was helping him to concentrate. He couldn't stop thinking about Meemaw. He remembered the last time he saw her, it was when his nephew was born and that Christmas he had promised her he would bring Amy to Galveston to meet her. But now it would not be possible anymore. She would have loved to meet Amy, though. On their last conversation over the phone, she told him how lovely Amy was to call her asking for her cookies. He thanked her for trusting Amy with her secret recipe, and bragged about how delicious they tasted, much similar to hers. _"Moonpie, it's time someone will continue with the cookies tradition. You know your mother is not very fond of cookies, all she wants to do is pecan pie."_ Her words replayed in his mind as if she was just by sitting his side. He would never forget her lovely brown eyes, who always seemed to be smiling. He wished he could be as happy with Amy as she had been with his Pop-Pop.

He couldn't believe the odds of receiving the news of the death of his beloved Meemaw while Amy was in the airplane. How he wished she were there with him. He stared at their prom picture on his phone. He finally told her he loved her that day. It was not as hard as it seemed.

In less than 2 months they would celebrate their 5-year anniversary. Sheldon knew he wanted to propose to her, and he was hoping to have Meemaw's ring. Missy didn't want it, her husband offered her his family's ring, and she was pretty happy about it. Junior was a lost case, and with his first marriage ending quickly in a divorce, he would probably not need it as well. His cousin Wallace was happily living with his boyfriend, and his sister Rhonda, who was a ballet dancer, was living in New York and soon would move abroad with her Ballet company, according to Missy's monthly gossip journal, so she was definitely not going to need it. Amy would certainly appreciate receiving her ring. He sighed. Why hadn't he asked Meemaw for the ring before? Why hadn't he taken Amy to visit her when he still could have? There never seemed to be the right time. But when was the right time anyway? Now that she was dead he would never have an opportunity again.

He turned around on his seat, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep. It was definitely not working. He decided he would just sit straight and close his eyes, hoping that sleep would find him. He still had two long hours of flight ahead.

* * *

It was past midnight when Sheldon arrived in Houston. Friday night was a busy time in the airport, so the plane landed and stopped in the apron area, so all the passengers had to walk down the ladder and wait for the bus shuttle. He looked up the sky and unlike the other times when he arrived there at night he saw no stars. It was a cloudy night, and a thin rain was falling over the city. The weather was a bit chilly, and Sheldon scolded himself for not having an umbrella with him. A gentle old lady next to him was kind enough to offer him to share hers with him. He thanked her with a quick smile and stood beside her as far as possible.

After leaving the gate, he spotted Junior among the crowd, who was waving at him. His short brother didn't have his goofy smile on his face. Instead he looked as sad as Sheldon. They greeted each other with a man hug, Junior holding his little brother tight before letting him go.

"Hey, Shelly, you must be exhausted, let me carry this heavy bag for ya."

"Thank you. How's mom?"

"She won't eat. Missy's there with her, it was a shock to everybody."

"What happened exactly? I didn't even give Missy a chance to tell me what happened."

"Nobody told you yet? Dear Lord. Let's get to the car, I tell you what happened in the way."

Junior's SUV was not far from the exit, so he quickly threw Sheldon's bag in the trunk and they entered inside. After the car was moving and they were in the road to Galveston, Junior started speaking.

"Well, Shelly, that's not easy to say. I didn't get over it yet."

"Just tell me."

"Alright." He took a deep breath and started speaking. "She was at the supermarket early this morning shopping for groceries. You know how independent she was, always going everywhere by herself." Junior paused, gulping, before he continued again. "Some people who witnessed it said that she had apparently forgotten something and returned to the supermarket after placing the groceries in the trunk of her car."

Sheldon's eyes widened. He had no idea yet of what had happened to Meemaw, and when he heard Junior describing the scene, his heart broke into pieces thinking of what could have caused her death.

Junior took a glance of his little brother, who was staring at him with watery eyes.

"Are you ok?"

"Yes, please, just go on and finish."

Junior sighed. It was even hard for him to formulate the sentences to explain to his little brother what happened. It didn't seem real, it was like he was watching a movie. He still couldn't believe that Meemaw was chatting happily with them the other day and yesterday she was dead. He nodded, starting over.

"As she was walking in the parking lot, she was hit by a large old pickup truck reversing. They called an ambulance but by the time she arrived at the hospital..." He tried to contain his tears, but he couldn't. "She was already dead."

Sheldon heard his older brother describing the scene, and before he finished his lower lip was already trembling, and as Junior's tears started to fall, his own decided to join and both brothers couldn't stop crying for a while.

"And was that it? A stupid truck took her away from us?"

"Yeah. A sad fatality."

The only sound inside the car until they arrived home were the sniffing and sighing from the two men.

* * *

When Sheldon opened the door to his mother's bedroom, he had knocked three times quietly without a reply. The room was dark and she was lying on her back, staring at the ceiling.

"Mom? Can I come in?"

She didn't reply, so he just let himself in and closed the door behind him. He sat beside her on the bed, before she turned her face to look at her son.

"Oh, Shelly!" And she started crying again. He didn't know what to do, he didn't remember ever seeing his mother that hopeless. He slowly lay beside her, giving her a kiss on her wet cheek, while his hand reached hers. She held his hand tightly, and turned around, hugging him, as tears fell, crying herself to sleep.

He woke up hours later beside her, her face still displaying the pain she felt with the death of her mother. He stood up slowly, trying not to wake her, and found his siblings downstairs having breakfast.

"Hey, Shelly, is mom feeling better?" Missy asked. She apparently was the strongest one in the house. Junior was unwillingly eating a piece of cake, while her baby was in a high chair being fed, oblivious to the situation.

"Not really, she just cried and cried. She's still asleep."

"Well, I guess someone needs to stay here with her while I go to the coroner. Her body will be released in a few hours, I already called them early this morning."

"What about the funeral?"

"I took care of the church and the funeral last night, so you don't have to worry about it. Just take care of mom."

"Ok. Thank you Missy. What about little Michael?"

"My husband is coming with me to the coroner, and we'll drop him at his sister's house, she'll be taking care of him the rest of the day. I'll meet you later at the church."

After eating something, Sheldon sat outside in the porch, watching the rain. It was like the day was weeping for his Meemaw. He looked at his watch and remembered that Amy had probably arrived in Oslo, and he entered the house again to retrieve his phone from his windbreaker pocket. She had left him a message.

 _Hi, Sheldon. I arrived safely in Oslo, I'll sleep for a few hours and I'll contact you again later. I didn't want to wake you up._

 _ILY_

 _AFF_

He decided to check on his mother before calling Amy, so he climbed the stairs just to find his mother in the hall ready to leave.

"Where are you going?"

"To her house. Are you coming with me?"

"Why are you going there?"

"I need to save a few things before Stumpy enters there and starts to make a mess."

Sheldon followed Mary down the stairs.

"But Mom, it's not a good idea for you to drive in this condition."

"I'm perfectly fine, Shelly."

"No, you're not. You're just pretending to be fine. Give me the keys, I'll drive."

"Sweet Jesus, are you out of your mind? You can't drive."

"You're wrong. I couldn't drive. Now I can. Amy taught me."

He grabbed the keys from his mother's hand and walked towards the garage. "Well, are you coming or not?"

Mary followed him and waited until he proceeded to adjust everything he needed before starting the car.

"So, why didn't you bring Amy with you?"

"She's traveling. When Missy called me yesterday she was already in the plane to Oslo."

"Oslo? Is that in Canada?"

"No, mother, it's the capital of Norway, in the north of Europe."

"Oh, so she's really far."

"Yes. I still have to call her, I couldn't tell her about what happened yet as she was in the plane."

They arrived at Meemaw's house, and Mary grabbed a key from her bag and unlocked the front door. Her house was still pretty much like he remembered. The characteristic smell reminded him of his childhood. She still kept the swinging chair which she used to read to him while he sat on her lap when he was a little boy.

"Shelly, I'll have a look around, organize a few things, why don't you take this time to call your lady?"

"I'll do that."

Mary entered the kitchen, and soon he heard the noise of water running and dishes being cleaned. Sheldon took this time to find a reserved place where he could call Amy, so he opened the front door and left.

* * *

Amy woke up feeling a little dizzy. Her head was aching and she couldn't believe how cold it still felt even though the heater was on. She checked her phone, it was 5 pm and she was still tired from the long trip. She felt her stomach growling, and as she hadn't eaten anything since she arrived, she decided to order food. She reached the phone beside the hotel bed and managed to call the reception and order a meal. It was almost dinner time, but she was in need of breakfast.

She finally stood up and decided to take a shower before the food arrived. She still needed to call Sheldon, and it was already an appropriate time to do that. Even though he told her to call as soon as she arrived, she decided to just text him and call the next day. She didn't want to disrupt his sleep, and with that she collected her toiletries from her bag and headed to the shower. After she got dressed, she heard a knock on the door, and she happily received the tray with a mixture of breakfast and dinner.

While she was eating her soup she heard her phone ringing.

"Hi Sheldon! I was about to call you."

"Hello Amy. It's so good to hear your voice again." She heard him reply, a tad of melancholy in his tone.

"Is everything ok?"

He sighed. There was no easy way to say it, so he would just tell her. "No."

"What happened?"

"Amy, I'm in Texas."

"What? Is everything ok with your mother?"

"Yes, my mother's fine. Amy... I came last night after Missy called me. Meemaw is dead."

Amy let her fork with a piece of pancake in it fall from her hand, making a hard noise when it hit the plate.

"Oh, Sheldon! I'm so sorry! I... I can't believe it, was she sick?"

"No, it was a fatality, she was hit by a car in a parking lot."

Amy was in shock, she couldn't believe that sweet woman died in such a silly manner. Hit by a car! She didn't even know what to tell him.

"Sheldon... I don't know what to say, how are you coping with it?"

"I was shocked yesterday. I took the first flight to Houston as soon as I heard about it. Leonard took me back to the airport a few hours after we left you."

"Do you want me to go back to the US? I can check the next flight back and-"

"No, Amy, that's really not necessary. I'm... I'm fine, there's nothing I can do about it now. The funeral will be in a couple of hours, and Missy somehow took care of everything, I don't even know what I can do to help. I'm with my mother at her house right now, she's looking for I don't know what."

"Oh, well, if you want me I can still go, I don't want to leave you alone in this moment."

"I know. Under different circumstances I'd love to have you here with me, but you're there working, there's really no need for you to rush back here."

"Ok... But I'll try to come back sooner. How long are you going to stay there?"

"Maybe a couple of days, until everything is solved. I still don't know what needs to be done, Meemaw didn't have much, you know, just the house, it will probably be shared between my mother and my uncle."

"Well, Sheldon, you can call me anytime you need, alright? I'm sorry I didn't call you when I arrived, I didn't want to disturb you, so I sent a message."

"You could have called me, I wouldn't mind. I'll see what my mother needs here and I'll drive her back home before we go to the church."

"Oh, are you driving?"

"Yes, I guess she was proud of me."

"So am I."

"Well, Amy, I'll call you back later, ok? I assume you're just working tomorrow, is that correct?"

"Yes, I'll just rest today and check my notes again. I'll be at the university tomorrow."

"Good. So take care."

"You too. I love you."

"I love you too. Bye."

* * *

Sheldon entered the house again, finding his mother upstairs in Meemaw's bedroom.

"Mom?"

"Hey Shelly, look at what I've found."

She showed him Meemaw's ring.

"Oh."

"I think you should keep it. You know, when you feel the time comes you could give it to Amy."

"Meemaw told me about it some months ago."

"I know, she told me as well. Here, keep it, no one needs to know. If anybody asks I'll just say she gave it to you some time ago."

"Ok, thank you." He grabbed the tiny box and put it in his pocket.

As Mary continued to go through her mother's old things, Sheldon walked in the office next door. It was Pop-Pop's old office, that Meemaw kept just the way he left it before he died. She still used the table to do the taxes and stuff like that. There was a bookshelf beside a big wooden table, and he decided to look at the books in there. He rarely entered that room, as Meemaw usually had the door locked. It was kind of a private place, he thought, so he never insisted in entering there.

The shelf had an old encyclopedia on the top, a few books by Jules Verne, which he used to read to Sheldon before he died, and a few accountancy books and notebooks. He took one by chance and saw the beautiful handwriting of his grandfather. It was essentially an accountant book, with notes of his old car workshop.

He kept looking around, and he found other notebooks with notes about car mechanics. His Pop-Pop loved his job, and he was always studying new techniques to fix the modern cars. He found a book about American cars from the 1960's and the 1970's, and he collected a few items and took to the large table to have a look at his grandpa's interests.

He carefully handled the old books with yellowed pages, a few of them had pictures in it. He found another book on engines, filled with notes and quick schemes his Pop-Pop probably made while studying it.

There was a notebook with lots of drawings, and inside it he found an old picture of him and Meemaw. They were in some sort of a party or festival, and they were posing beside an old Chevy. _'Meemaw had lived among cars all her life and ended up hit by one in the end of her life. Isn't life ironic?'_ He thought, sighing. He took the last notebook from the pile, when he noticed it had a little locket on the side.

Sheldon was curious about it, but the notebook was closed, and he didn't want to damage it.

"Where could the key be?" He started to open the drawers under the large table. They were filled with office material, like pens, a stapler, a magnifier, a couple of car parts. After opening a few more doors to the cabinet on the wall, he found nothing. He kept looking around, when he wondered if behind the picture of a landscape on the wall there was something else. He slowly removed the large frame from the hook, and found that it covered a safe.

"Cool! Just like in the movies."

He was about to think of a combination, when he noticed it was open already. Inside he found a few documents, and a little box. When he opened, there was a pair of golden earrings and a necklace, that probably belonged to Meemaw. He placed it back and called his mother.

"Mom, I found this little box inside of a safe. Did you know there was one behind this picture?"

"Oh, yes, it's an old thing. What is it?"

"Just a golden pair of earrings and a necklace."

"Oh, let me see it." She picked up the box and opened it. "Oh, I've never seen this before. It looks like they have never been worn. Look, it still has the tag from the store in it."

"Oh, do you think it was a present?"

"Maybe."

"Mom, have you ever seen this before?" Sheldon picked up the notebook with the locket in it.

"Oh, this was my dad's diary. He never let anyone read it. But I had once."

"Really?"

"Yeah, everybody knew he placed the key behind this picture. Look." She skewed the frame that was supported by the wall, and picked the small key from the inside of the frame.

"Stumpy, Carl and I were really curious in our childhood. There was no secret we wouldn't figure out." She handed the key to Sheldon. You might enjoy it, I didn't when I was a kid because I didn't want to read about my parent's life. You may have a chance to see how his life was."

Sheldon took the little key and opened the lock. It was a thick notebook, he calculated around three hundred pages, and he started to flip around the pages while his mother returned to the other room.

He carefully placed the frame back on the wall, leaving the safe semi-closed, and sat back by the table to have a look at his Pop-Pop's diary. He just had a quick look at it. His grandpa did have a beautiful handwriting. He noticed all entries were dated, and the first one was one day before his wedding.

 _Tulsa, May 19th, 1950_

 _Tomorrow is probably going to be the best day of my entire life. It will be the day I get married to the most beautiful woman I have ever seen._

Sheldon smiled after reading the first line of the first entry of his diary. He had always loved to see how kind his Pop-Pop was to Meemaw. And he had seen pictures of Meemaw when she was young, and she definitely had the good looks. He quickly turned the pages to find his last entry. It was written in shaky handwriting. He gasped when he saw the date.

 _Galveston, December 15th, 1985_

 _I feel my hands are not responding anymore the way they used to. I can feel the end is coming, and this may probably be the last time I'm writing. Soon I will be submitted to surgery, but the doctors told me there was little chance of surviving. But as there was still a chance, I decided to face it. If I could spend a few more years with my family I will be blessed._

Sheldon quickly closed the diary, as tears fell from his face. This little piece of leather with paper in it had essentially all of his grandfather's history. He wrote it until a day before he died. Sheldon still remembered visiting him at the hospital, how he waved at him through the window, in the ICU, before his surgery. He was just told that he died a few days later. It was the saddest Christmas in his life. By that time he wrote a letter for Santa Claus to ask for his Pop-Pop to come back. It hadn't worked, he cursed the old man and never celebrated Christmas again.

He locked the diary again and held it against his chest. He had already lost so many people he loved. First his Pop-Pop, then his father. He even lost Professor Proton less than a year before. Now Meemaw left him. He gently caressed the leather cover, remembering how it was to be with his grandparents when he was a little boy. How his grandfather had always encouraged him to pursue science, so different from his father, who wanted him to be a normal boy.

He was lost in his thoughts when his mother came from the other room, startling him.

"Shelly, I think it's time we go back home. Your sister called and said that we have to be at church in 2 hours."

He nodded, putting the books away in the bookshelf. When he was about to place the diary back, he held it for a while and decided to take it with him.

* * *

 **A/N:** Thanks a lot for reading this chapter! I didn't realize it was that long until I posted it here. Next chapter will have Meemaw's funeral and Sheldon will start reading the diary. Are you enjoying this story so far? I'd love to see your opinion. Leave a review if you like. Thanks a lot in advance!


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